ROUND 3: HULME MAKES IT 3 AT MOSPORT

McLaren M6A Chevrolet of Dennis Hulme on his way to a third consecutive vic-tory at Mosport Park. For the first time non-British European autosport maga-zines put in November 1967 the fabulous CANAM cars at their front page. Here the cover of the French Sport Auto of 40 years ago. Chief-editor was Gérard Cromback with José Rosinski - a racer having driven the Alpine A210 at Le Mans - as most interesting journalist.

The Player's 200 at Mosport Park is together with the Canadian F1 Grand Prix the most important race on the Canadian Race Calendar. When at the qualifications it appears that the fastest CANAM cars are pulverising the track record, set one month earlier by the great Jim Clark - the Michael Schumacher of his days and for me the best racer ever - European autosport magazines are at once interested in those crazy machines run overseas. Indeed, the 1'20"8 realised by Denis Hulme is 2"4 seconds faster than his qualification time (1'23"2) at the Canadian Grand Prix and 1"6 faster than the track record realised by Jim Clark (1'22"4) at the same Grand Prix. One week prior to the American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen - a GP where Denis Hulme has to defend his first place in the F1 World Championship - several journalists are present at Mosport. They cannot believe their eyes when they see that no less than 5 "big bangers" realise sharper qualification times than set four weeks earlier in F1 by Jim Clark and his fabulous Lotus-Ford, 360bhp strong at 10,000rmp.
Journalists are wondering how such times can be realised by Group 7 cars weighting 200 kgs more than a F1 car. At once they are interested in the types of motors used by those hairy monsters. Also the fact that several G7 cars reach on the Mosport "straight" maximum speeds of 310 kph (against 290 kph for the fastest F1 cars) makes great impression.  Let's talk about the engines used by the top teams at Mosport.
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing uses the latest 5,871cc Chevrolet motors, 540bhp strong, as tuned by Bartz. Using a new cam shaft of own design, Bartz is the man having superseded all older Chevy motors as tuned by Traco.  He works with the Lucas fuel injection on a crossover manifold with a magneto ignition by Scintilla Vertex. Except the 7-litre Chevrolet as installed in the Chaparral 2G - told being good for 600bhp, in fact for some 570bhp - no other team has such performant engines as Bruce McLaren Racing.
Of all other teams at the start Roger Penske Racing is by far the most professional. Full evidence was given for that at Mosport. During practice George Follmer as well as Mark Donohue were spinning of at high speed. Both cars were destroyed. Follmer's car suffered even from a bent chassis. So it seemed excluded to find on Sunday one of Penske's cars at the start. Roger Penske, however, does things on his way. He let work his mechanics the whole night on correcting the chassis of Follmer's car and sent his personal plane to Indianapolis to pick up a body front at George Bignotti. A truch was underway from Philadelphia with the rear body panels. On Sunday morning both cars were at the start, even faultless painted in the Sunoco colours! They are equipped with 7-litre aluminium Chevrolet motors, officially 550bhp strong, with inverse horizontal double Weber carburetters. Donohue's car, using the new lightweight chassis, has a small weight advantage over Follmer's car, using the 1966 chassis.
All American Racers uses a Ford motor on Dan Gurney's car and a Chevrolet on Grant's car (the last being absent at Mosport). Gurney uses the new lightweight Lola chassis and a Weber carburettered 351 c.i. V8 Weslake Ford engine, 525bhp strong.

Team Surtees, suffering terribly with Eric Broadley's new lightweight chassis, missing enough rigidity, uses a 5-litre Chevrolet with Weber carburettors, tuned by Traco. The evening before the race he'll switch to the 5,871cc motor of Bartz. The problem with the new chassis (40 kgs lighter than the former version) was that its suspension was redisigned to take 9 inch and 12 inch wide front and rear tyres, but that Eric Broadley had no time to test and develop the design. Having invested much work and much money in his new Lola T70 Mk3 GT closed sportscar, Broadley seemed to be the first victim of FIA's stupid decision - announced one week after the Le Mans 24 hours, and this without the smallest consult of the manufacturers - that up from next season only 3-litre car will be allowed in FIA endurance races (including the Le Mans 24 hours). For Broadley, having just developed his 5.9-litre Lola T70 Mk3 GT, this seems to become a financial disaster.
It was no secret that most CANAM Lola racers perferred the Mk2 with its rigid chassis on the lighter Mk3 with its problematic roadholding. Later Bruce Burness, chief mechanic for George Follmer at Penske's team, will explain it as follows: "My theory is that the Mark IIIs used double adjustable Koni dampers, whereas the Mark IIs used Armstrongs. I think the Armstrongs suited the car better, that's all I can think it was." 
Dana Chevrolet with Payton Cramer as race director, uses the same 5,871cc motors tuned by Bartz as Bruce McLaren Motor Racing.
Holman & Moody/Paul Newman use on their Honker II Ford the new Gurney-Weslake 6,068cc engine with Tecalemit-Jackson injection and coupled to a Hewland gear-box. At Mosport the car is nearly ...20 secs per lap slower than the McLarens M6A. Mario Andretti is so furious about it that he refuses to start.
Absent at Mosport is the Chaparral 2G of Jim Hall. He's working in Texas to improve his car with the famous fibreglass chassis and the magnesium 7-litre Chevrolet motor (570bhp strong).
Frank Matich races the 4.4-litre Brabham-Repco, coupled to a ZF gearbox. Compared with other CANAM cars, he's nearly 100bhp short on the top-cars. The Ferrari 330 P3/4 Spyder develops with its new 4.2-litre engine, having replaced the 4-litre one, 485bhp, what's 40bhp more than on the Matich SR3.
At Mosport Park we find two new cars on the grid, both for Canadian drivers. Epie Wietzes will start in the Comstock Racing Ford GT40 Coupe, a simple Group 4 car as already seen on some European endurance races this year. And Nat Adams will start with the #18 Veedol Racing Team Chinook Mk1A Chevrolet, a kind of a copy of the former Chaparral 2A made by George Fejer. On a below picture we see the car crossing the finish line together with the McLaren M6A of winner Denis Hulme. Difference between the two cars is...11 laps (out of 80). Needless to tell that it's hardly more than one of the many field fillers.
Of all Canadian cars at the start in their own country the ex-Amon McLaren M1B Chevrolet of Eustache Soucy for Mike Spence (himself not a Canadian, but a Briton) is by far the fastest car, realising the 4th time on the grid. The only other Canadian able to fight in the midfield is Ludwig Heimrath starting on his private McLaren M1B Chevrolet. 
Of the 31 cars seen on practice, only 26 will eventually start. Other retirements than Andretti's come from the Charlie Hayes McKee Mk7, and from Scooter Patrick's Mirage M1 Chevrolet, both having been involved in accidents. [JPVR]

One of my CANAM trophies. Having finished my studies in economics and mathematics in 1967 I travelled in September to Canada where I wished to follow post-graduate computer studies at Waterloo University (at those days the leading school in informatics). During my short stay in Canada I went to the Player's 200 to see those famous "big bangers", excluded from the European tracks. Above a copy of the front page of the race programme.